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The Theater: ‘Rainbow’

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The progenies of “Hair” have not enjoyed a great track record. It is therefore all the more pheasant to re port that the latest of that tribe, “Rainbow,” which opened last night at the Orpheum Theater, is a dis tinct success. It has the style, manner and energy of “Hair,” as well as its chaotic organization and its sim plistic view of a far from simple world.

It has been written chiefly by James Rado, who was one of the writers of “Hair.” The music and lyrics are by Mr. Rado, and for the book he has been assisted, but per haps not enough, by his brother, Ted Rado.

The musical is joyous and life‐assertive. It is the first musical to derive from “Hair” that really seems to have the confidence of a new creation about it, largely derived from James Rado's sweet and fresh music and lyrics.

“Rainbow almost literally takes off from where‐“Hair” ended. At the end of “Hair,” Claude, the drafted dropout, is killed in Vietnam, In ‘Rain bow,” someone called simply Man has been killed in Viet nam, and comes over the other side into Rainbow land.

Rainbow land is the kind of place that perhaps only Judy. Garland could fully ap preciate. It seems to be a radio station of sorts—fancy finding out that heaven was just that great big radio sta tion in the sky—obsessed, but not too intently, with preparing” commercials for such soap products as Oxy dol. (Nights when I was un able to sleep I often won dered whatever happened to Oxydol—well, it appears it made good, and went on to higher things.)

There is a Mother, and a Father, and Jesus, and Bud dha, a Stripper, a Wizard, a Girl, her Lesbian twin, a President and a First Lady. The whole thing is great fun until for one horrid and un fortunate moment, the Broth ers Rado feel impelled to in troduce a conscience‐struck note of political significance.

The Man, accompanied by his Rainbow Room of cronies, goes to Washington and there sees the President. “Why was I killed in Vietnam, Mr. President,” he asks plain tively. Mr. President, a good guy at heart, replies: “If it was my fault, forgive me.” Yes, well. But such lapses apart—and there aren't many —“Rainbow” really swings and pulses.

Man

Gregory V. Karliss

Jesus

Philip A. D.

Stripper

Patricia Gaul

De Banana

Rudy Brown

Mother

Camille

Father

Michael D. Arian

Buddha

Meat Loaf

Opera

Elinor Frye

President

Dean Compton

First Lady

Merle Santell

President's Child

Stephen Scharf

President's Child

Marcia McClain

Wizard

Bobby C. Ferguson

Girl

Kay Cole

Twin Girl

Janet Powell

Perhaps the big surprise is provided by James Rados music, which comes out in a gush of melody. It is a bril liant score full of the most astonishing variety. Some of it does sound like the great Galt MacDermot score for “Hair,” and the influence of MacDermot is strongly felt. But there is also country mu sic, band music, showbiz pastiche, all manner of mu sic, held into one homoge nous score by its character istic forcefulness. Yes, at times this pressure it a little unremitting, and the show has an almost unbelievable 42 numbers in it. Luckily the singing hardly ever stops.

Mr. Rados lyrics have a bizarre zaniness. Apart from the occasional modish dirti ness, there is a Lewis Carroll madness here that is most appealing. They say crazy things and evoke crazy im ages, but do so with a most bouncy zest.

The setting by James Til ton is simple but effective, consisting fundamentally of a spiral platform running around the stage. Busby Berkeley would have loved it and Fred Astaire would have tap‐danced down it. The staging is by yet another “Hair” alumnus, Joe Donovan.

Mr. Donovan has doubtless caught his sense of slightly organized frenzy from Tom O'Horgan, but his style of red‐cheeked clowns and un likely buffoons appears to derive more from John Vac caro and his Playhouse of the Ridiculous. It works well to give the show the specific style it needs in the absence of a book.

The performances — and this is a team effort — are notably attractive. The show has something of the tribal quality of “Hair,” that odd mixture of charades and greasepaint, of backyard kids play‐acting.

Gregory V. Karliss gave Man a certain gusto, Camille (only one name as in Greta Garbo) belted attractively as the Mother, Bobby C. Fergu son made a happily mysteri ous Wizard, Patricia Gaul, a sprightly stripper, and the two pretty and fine‐singing Girls were Kay Cole and Janet Powell. All the singing was first‐rate and the playing (musical supervision by Ste ven Margoshes) and the sound engineering (Abe Jacob) were both superior.

What separates “Rainbow” from the other rock and plot less musicals that have re cently been going bump in the night, is its stylistic co hesion and lack of preten sions. It is not only noisy and brash, it is also very likable.

A version of this archives appears in print on December 19, 1972, on Page 50 of the New York edition with the headline: The Theater: ‘Rainbow’. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe